car department report - spring 2009 › resources › documents › fox... · after lunch chuck...

FRL-09-1

file:///C|/Users/Matt/Downloads/FRL-09-1beab.htm[3/29/2012 5:24:04 PM]

Issue 09-1, Spring 2009

Car Department Report - Spring 2009

Most members and visitors alike probably won't recognize this.However without it being in proper operating condition visitors andcrew members would go nowhere fast on CNS&M 715! Ralph Taylorjust completed cleaning and painting the Westinghouse DH25 aircompressor and Joe Hazinski, Car Department Superintendentsnapped a picture of Ralph's handiwork.

To May 4th, 2009

Readying the museum's rolling stock for the season's operation began inearnest om May 3 and 4. Cars were inspected based upon previouslyreported problems and defects.. In addition some normal servicing wasundertaken.

Car CTA 40 #1 motor had bad armature. Several commutator bars at least(those that could be viewed from the access covers) have been damagedand/or destroyed and it is grounded out. There was confusion on how the"blue lights" are supposed to work and be reset.

Ralph Taylor inspected all eight motors on 5001 and found debris and

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four or more mice nests in some of them but judged that they were okafter cleaning them out. It is very difficult to access these motors withouta pit. Draw bars on the South end of 40 and the North end of 5001 werechecked. Car CTA 40's to functioned properly with just a little oiling.5001's mechanism works but the knuckle is still frozen due to dirt andgrease. Motor generator covers were removed and inspection revealedthat they rotated ok. A wood third rail isolating shim had fallen into the Abody M-G so it was good that we did not power up the car. A stickybrush was located in the A-1 M-G and while it will stay in contact withthe commutator under spring pressure it can not be removed because itwill have to be broken out so a burr on the brush holder can be filed flat.(A replacement brush was located in the car barn on Monday.) Thebattery box covers were removed on the A and A-1 bodies for inspectionand battery servicing and it was determined that there are no battery cellsin the B body cabinet. The Line Breaker blue light toggle was reset on car43 after inspecting it. CTA 43's blue light then went out as it should. CTA40's blue lights were on and by reseting its toggle and they too went out.

Jim Gonyo and CTA 40 on the Museum's car pit AKA Ward'sBridge.This points up the need for such a facility in our car barn.

After lunch Chuck Galitz started up CRT 5001 using the start switches foreach of the two active M-G sets. CTA 40 and 43 were run down to thebridge where the king pin was inspected from the underside andmeasurements taken by Ralph so that the right sized wrench will beavailable when it comes time to removed the truck for traction motorremoval. Ralph Taylor, Grant Harrison and myself inspected theunderside of the truck. There are many questions as to how the motorshould be removed. Ideally the motor is designed to be removed fromunderneath but since we do not have a pit, much less a pit designed forthis, we will have disconnect the truck from the car, jack the body up and

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then roll the truck out to get at the motor from the top. Exactly what hasto be done to the parking brake and drive shaft is not clear at this time.By the way CTA 40 and 43 were operated with six motors down to aback from the bridge. 43 and 40 were spotted on track 2 by Jim Gonyoand Ralph

Taylor. Chuck Galitz and Patrick Storm them brought up 5001 and camedown to couple onto car 40 so it could be place on track 1. While Ralphpulled the 600 volt jumper and opened the electrical jumper couplersbetween 40 and 43 I cut out all the motors on CTA 40. CRT 5001coupled up to 40 and on the second try the joint was made. The CTA 40'sbrakes were released and the car spotted on track 1 to wait while Chuckstarted up diesel 73 with the help of Patrick Storm. WSR 73 needed to bemoved further North for better space utilization on the recentlyrehabilitated track 1 and so that the South end of 40 is in the best possiblelocation for jacking. Once WSR 73 was moved CTA 40 was parked whileCRT 5001 was then run back to the mainline where battery serving andinspection could take place. WSR 73 was left idling the rest of theafternoon to charge its batteries.

Switching was done to spot cars for opening day operations under thedirection of Luke Helm. It should be mentioned that Bob Hillman andJanet Gonyo as well as others were busy cleaning the interiors of carswhile all this was going on. Laura Taylor and Stan Nettis were busysetting up the museum store. Stan and I entered South shore car 7 torecover some CTA signs for clean up and resale in the museum store. Thecondition of the interior of car CSS&SB 7 is deplorable and frankly bothSouth Shore cars need some new dedicated volunteers to work on themjust to stabilize them as our current workforce has its hands full trying tokeep the operating equipment going along with other current projects(CTA L-202, CNS&M756, CTA 4103. CA&E 316 and MUNI 1030).Ralph with a little help from myself was able to service the A-1 bodybatteries and measure and record their voltage. The cells were verythirsty and are producing a little over have of their rated voltage. Ralphassisted me in putting up the M-G covers which require some repair andrehabilitation to make it once again a one-man job. A dandy latch hooktool provided by Fred Lonnes was very helpful on each of the all-electriccars through out the day. Time ran out before the A body batteries couldbe watered and checked but Ralph and Jim Gonyo hope to tackle thistask on Friday May 8th. Luke Helm wisely spotted 43 away from thetrack 2 high level platform to make access harder to the car during theweek when the museum is closed. Chuck Galitz installed chains on all theladders to both diesel 5 and 75 to discourage the public from climbing onthe units especially when we are not around.

Monday the 4th of May found Ralph Taylor and Doug Rundell at themuseum when I arrived just after 11:00 am from Joliet. Ralph wasworking on the new door to the crew locker and Doug was getting readyto work on IC caboose 9648. Doug and I found the caboose jammed withmaterial from the Polar Express. We sorted through the material,consolidating it into fewer boxes, labeling and taping them up. Allcleaning supplies and soda left over from the re-certification days wasleft in the caboose while Doug vacuumed it out and wet mopped the

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floor.

As Ralph continued to hang the crew locker door and put a first coat ofpaint on it Doug and I went to the line car to get the grounding pole andcable in order to ground the overhead so we could safely work on IC9648's roof. Both of us climbed up there to inspect what needs to be doneto scrape, wire wheel, wash, prime and paint the roof, a task to be spearheaded by Doug. As Ralph finished his painting for the day, Doug and Iput the safety board back on the caboose ladder. Doug and Ralph thenloaded up the Taylor van with the Polar Express material (it took twotrips) while I marched the grounding pole back to the line car. All threeof us unloaded the van and Doug and I hoisted all the material I up intothe southwest car barn loft. The damaged bottom of the old crew lockerdoor was cut off and the door was saved as with two saw horses (ofwhich we have many) it can become a portable, temporary work table forprojects especially outside.

We took a look at the PCC traction motors out behind the car barn. Thereare four of them and they are all filled with debris. There are two freearmatures and one housing inside the car barn. While their conditions areunknown it is hoped that maybe we can find a usable armature fromamong them to replace the damaged one in CTA 40. Ralph was able toleave to pick up Laura about 3:00 pm while Doug stayed until 4:00 pmand I was finally able to lock up by 4:30 pm. We were all tired but weleft the museum a better place then when we found it and both Doug andI have a better idea of how to approach work on IC 9648.

Here is another "guess what." A component if not in good operatingcondition would mean we and our visitors world not get to where wewant to go. This one of the battery boxes on CRT 5001.

Car Department Board Report

Since the last report CTA 4451 was serviced by Joseph Hazinski, PatrickStorm and Chuck Galitz in time for use by the track department thisSpring. Joe checked the air filter and replaced the filter elements which

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was an experiment and seemed to work fairly well with a combination ofone filter element and new horse hair. Jim Gonyo and Rich Chapas wereable to repair the sagging ceiling panels by drilling holes through thepanels and using self taping screws to attach it to the metal flanges of thecarlines a much easier repair then had been anticipated so the car wasready for public use on opening day.

CNS&M 715 was serviced by Jim Gonyo, Bill Minerly and Ralph Taylorafter Joseph Hazinski replaced the curled horse hair with clean brand newhair in the compressor's air filter. This filter had never been servicedsince the car left the North Shore! Unfortunately to date there has been nowork done on the seats.

CRT 5001 had all eight of its motors inspected by Ralph Taylor whoremoved a number of mice nests. Inspection of the two working motor-generator sets revealed a wood block in one blower and a small problemin one of the brush holders in the other. Ralph Taylor with help from JimGonyo and others serviced and static charged (with a separate chargingunit, not the usual M-G's) both sets of batteries which were in a lowwater condition. When the unit was used for switching amid before thebatteries were serviced a flaw was reported in the operation of the reversekey in the north Cineston controller. This is being looked into by RalphTaylor with him taking apart a unit he has at home to figure out how itworks.

On April 25th during the first day of re-certification there were reportsthat the CTA 40-43 train would buck. At first it was thought to be wheelslip and was dealt with by shutting off the controller. Sunday April 26th

the bucking condition was much worse on the first Southbound trip andon the Northbound trip the train actually stalled and died South of switch54. By cutting out motors 1 and 2 (all-electric cars' motors are alwayspaired ) and jumping the control positive switch that train was able tolimp into Castlemuir with CTA 43 pulling CTA 40. Subsequentinspection revealed that CTA 40's line breaker coil had blown, car CTA43's control positive switch had been tripped and blown out and worst ofall CTA 40's #1 traction motor had flashed over. While this is a seriousproblem I am happy to report that as of the writing of this report I haveobtained the help of a CTA expert who has much experience with thesecars who will provide major assistance in replacing the defective tractionmotor at little or no cost to the museum and as well will head up thechange out later this summer with the work to be done by Labor Day sothe car is ready well in advance of the Polar Express. This will free up therest of the Car Department staff to resume work on the on going CNS&M756 and CTA L-202 projects.

CNS&M 756 is in a perilous state with area over the smoker, auxiliarycabinet and restroom currently without a wood roof and thus protectionfrom the elements. Ralph Taylor has completed all the wooden portionsof the carlines needed for the whole project over the winter. He hasproduced some of the tongue and groove roof boards needed and whilethis is very tedious, the expense of having this done by a mill work shopis cost prohibitive at this time of budgetary constraint. CTA L-202 shouldbe started this season so that the motor removal can be done to show thedonors to this specific project that work is moving ahead. Also CA&E

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316 needs some electrical work completed so it can be available for theCA&E re-enactment on July 3rd. Because there is no locomotive availablefor the caboose train this season and because the work needs to be done,recently retired member Doug Rundell has volunteered to start workingon IC caboose 9648. He will be de-rusting, priming and painting the roofalong with repairs to the interior floor and replacement of a crackedcupola window. Fortunately he will be doing this on weekdays all seasonso the car will be available for inspection on the weekends when we areopen to the public. During the first session Doug Rundell and JoeHazinski along with assistance of Ralph Taylor were able to remove allthe Polar Express material from the car and store it in the car barn as wellas scope out the efforts needed. If things work out well and we have goodweather the department may be able to repaint the exterior of the car thisseason.

As of this writing the annual inspection of CA&E 20 needs to becompleted. Chuck Galitz is poised to start work on the South end ofAE&FR l #5 and has continued his diagnostic checks of WSR #73'sproblems eliminating some of the possible issues. Joseph Hazinski canalways find something to do in the car barn as its reorganizationcontinues. The museum's parts washer has been charged with a waterbased parts cleaner and is available for use.

Joseph R. Hazinski

Sale or No Sale

Awidely quoted axiom in the lexicon of sales folks and sales managers is"The sale begins when the customer says NO!" Are our customerssaying "NO"? It depends upon how one looks at the sales (read revenue)information we have.

Our Museum's sales fall into two categories. First is Museummemberships; second is Museum operations. Operation sales fall into twocategories. First is weekend ticket and gift shop sales; second is "SpecialEvents" ticket sales such as Halloween Hiawatha, "POLAR EXPRESS",

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and, to some extent, "Pumpkin Trolley."

On one hand, we have absolutely NO problem closing "Special Event"sales. We have actually turned away customers for Halloween Hiawathaand "POLAR EXPRESS" ever since we began operating them in 2004.

On the other hand, based on statistics supplied by our RevenueEnhancement Committee, our Museum's weekend ticket sales and giftshop revenue has been declining overall for more than seven years! This inspite of putting out advertising, press coverage, and maintaining a webpresence. One obvious conclusion is that our Museum's potentialcustomers are saying "NO SALE"!

"The sale begins when the customer says NO!" What must we as aMuseum do to make the sale? First, let's look at our product. What has tochange in our Museum product itself to make it more saleable? We mustchange what our customers see and experience. For example, the cars,their condition, and their variety are definite factors for the customer tosay NO SALE! To "CLOSE SALES", we need to key our serviceschedule, overall appearance, on the train presentations, site tours beyondthe ride, and our on site amenities to match our customer's interests andexpectations. We especially need to enhance our on-site amenities—alarger and more comfortable Museum Store, true rest rooms, and betterparking are the first improvements to come to mind. And all of thesechanges must be made in the context of "Education ThroughDemonstration."

All of US—Members, Managers, and Directors—must focus our energy,our time, our talent, and our treasure on creating a "plan"—a sales strategy—to make the sale. Then, after creating our plan, we must then focus ourenergy, our time, our talent, and our treasure to put outgoing, dynamic,success driven people in charge of managing and executing our "plan" sothat we can make the sale to our customers. It's a choice for all of themembers—Make the sale or put up a "FOR SALE" sign.

See you in South Elgin.

Edward Konecki

[email protected]

847-209-5453

Ed would appreciate your comments and or suggestions. He can bereached by e-mail at the above address or at the phone number shown. -Editor

MissionTo preserve and interpret Chicago's electric transport erathat began in the 1890s and peaked before 1950. The

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electric transport era is significant because electricrailways, including interurban, rapid transit, andstreetcars, helped the Chicago region grow to be one ofNorth America's great metropolitan areas. The Museumstrives to show that electric railways were more thanconvenient, they were and are a way of life forgenerations of people from all walks of life.

The Museum fulfills this mission by preserving,interpreting, and operating historic railway vehicles on itsdemonstration electric railway, over the Aurora, Elgin andFox River Electric route at South Elgin, Illinois.Furthermore, the museum preserves, displays andinterprets smaller artifacts, photos, oral histories, anddocuments which help relate the importance of electrictransport in and around the Chicago Metropolitan Area,putting them in context with their surroundings and era.

Chucck Galitz

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Help! ! !It is only July and December is afar off! But December is COMING! Sois the need to get our 2010 calendar into print in time for 2010. Inaddition we need articles and pictures from our members of theirs andothers activities at the Museum. We are dependent on members for storiesand pictures.

To submit stories, the easiest way is to put them in the body of an e-mailto me at [email protected]. We are interested in the text only . . . theformatting is by the editor or graphics editor. Generally articles should befrom 300 to 400 words in length UNLESS a feature article is beingsubmitted. In that case contact the editor first for more information.

Pictures for the calendar should be in JPEG or GIF format. Contact theeditor for more information. CALENDAR picture submissions should bein the editors hands by September 15, 2009. The editor can be reached at630-665-2581 or [email protected].

Don MacBean

The Museum is GrowingLast April, Luke Helm and I were out photographing the last survivingfreight railroad using electric locomotives. It's the Iowa Traction Railroadin Mason City Iowa.I guess most people think of Mason City as "RiverCity" the inspiration for the musical The Music Man. However what dothese two locomotives have to do with the Museum? They showed methat the Museum is developing. In what manner you may ask?

#60 pulling 6 loads of scrap from Emory approaching the UPinterchange in Mason City, with #50 awaiting to tie on and assist withthe move.

WELL….

I became inspired watching these locomotives still doing their daily work

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in 2009 and reflected on the electric motors that once plied the rails of theAurora Elgin and Fox River Electric, before our beloved #5 waspurchased by the AE&FRE. I want to make an operating model of one orthe other of #23 or #49. But where do I start to get information? This iswhere the museum acts like a museum. Part of the obligation of amuseum is to educate others. Museum Services is set up to be able toprovide the members and the public alike with research material. Lukesuggested I contact several members to see what information they and/orthe museum may have about motors #23 and #49. I received wonderfulfeedback from both Don MacBean and Marty Tuohy about sourcematerials that may have more information that I may use in furthering mypursuit. I understand the museum is currently in the process of organizingthe collection and developing research policies. I was informed that I wasthe first person to make a request from the museum archives.

#50 crossing 19th Street returning to the AGP Plant lead to tie upafter assisting #60.

AE&FRE #49 sitting in the back area of the Elgin State Hospital.Picture date unknown.Hopefully, the museum will be able to prepare and catalog its historicalmaterial and be become a research resource for not only the membership,but also a resource for the community we serve. Yes, the educationalaspect of the museum is more than the ride on the railroad. It mustcontinue to be expanded with signage, displays and other materials forthe edification of the public and membership alike. FTRM needs to makeitself more relevant to the lives of members of the community, in itsoutreach.

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This is a true reflection of the maturation and growth of the museum.

Mike Tyl

Guess Where and Other Picture ItemsPage 12 of issue 2008-3, the picture at the top of the page is lookingnorth at County Farm Road and Geneva Road in DuPage County Illinois.The pictures of the stone markers are found in Geneva at 113 S. ThirdStreet in front of the Geneva Historical Society Museum and across thestreet from the original Kane County Court House.

With regard to the picture of AE&FRE #5 on LaFox Street at State Street,South Elgin on page 1 of issue 2008-3, all four people have identifiedthemselves from left to right as Ken Ward, Ed Allen, Ralph Taylor andDon MacBean. Ed Allen identified the year the picture was taken as1960.

Don MacBean

Fishing Anyone?Wearing the hat of Community Relations Manager and also responding toour website requests for information one gets many and varied questionsabout the Museum. Some are listed below with the answers.

Q. Where do I get a "fishing license" (on Sunday or any other day)?

A. At Gander Mountain on Randall Road and Route 38 (State Street) inGeneva.

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Q. How much do they cost?

A. $13.00 for a year.

Q. What kinds fish are found in the Fox River?

A. They are bass varieties, blue gills, crappie, carp, pike, sun fish. Checkwith the Kane County Forest Preserve or the Illinois Department ofNatural Resources.

Q. Do you have banquet or convention facilities?

A. Yes and no. Banquets can be held at the Jon Duerr Forest Preservepicnic shelters. No at our Castlemuir Station grounds.

Q. Are you open on week days and if so what are the hours?

A. Our grounds are open, but we do not run trains on weekdays. You maywalk around the grounds and if any of our volunteers are present theywill be happy to answer your questions. The parking lot is not open onweekdays however. We are open and operate trains on Sundays fromMother's Day to the first Sunday in November and on Saturdays from thelast Saturday in June through Labor Day weekend in September and thelast four Saturdays in October. Our hours are 11 am to 5 pm. The cost fora round trip is $3.50 for adults and $2.00 for seniors 65 and up and forchildren three (3) to eleven (11). Children under three (3) ride free. Add$.50 for a second trip.

Q. Do you operate your trains on a schedule . . . like every half hour?

A. We do not have a set schedule, however our trains usually operateabout half hourly but not at specific times. The ride takes about 25minutes for the round trip if you stay on the train. We encourage folks toget off the train at Blackhawk Station and explore the Jon J. Duerr ForestPreserve and its hiking trails and to walk down to the Fox River - a shorthike on pavement. There is abundant bird life including Baltimore orioles,numerous kinds of finches, blue birds, red wing black birds, thrushes,swallows, hawks and eagles. The eagles use the Fox River as a "flyway"for "fishing." If you walk the trails an abundance of wild life (if you arequiet) and even rare prairie plants can be observed.

Q. Are there places to eat near the Museum?

A. Yes, there are many places in South Elgin. They range from Wedee's,Burger King, and Pizza Hut to full service restaurants on Route 31 (LaFox Street) and numerous fast food and pizza places to full servicerestaurants on Randall Road one and one half (1½) miles west of theMuseum.

Q. How do I get to the Museum?

A. Where are you located? Do you have access to the Internet? Ianswered the questions appropriately and referred to maps and directionson the Museum's web site's "Information page."www.foxtrolley.org/info.html)

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Is there a lesson for Fox River Trolley Museum in these questions?

Don Mac Bean

Fox River Lines Staff

Managing Editor—Don MacBean, 817 College Ave. #5, Wheaton, IL60187 (630) 665-2581 E-mail [email protected]

Associate Editor—Luke Helm, Jr.

Layout and Graphics— Jack Sowchin

Fox River Lines is the official publication of the Fox River TrolleyAssociation, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. It is publishedfour times per calendar year for distribution to members and friends ofthe museum. Reproduction of Fox River Lines, either in part or in itsentirety, is strictly prohibited without prior permission from the editorialstaff or the FRTA board of directors. Entire contents Copyright © 2009Fox River Trolley Association, Inc.

Submissions: Submission of stories from members and others isnecessary to publish Fox River Lines. Feature length articles are alwayswelcome and considered. Please contact the staff before undergoing aproject. Contributors submit materials with the understanding that nomonetary compensation is provided.

Correspondence: Comments, suggestions, and corrections relating toFox River Lines should be directed to Managing Editor Don MacBean atthe address listed above. The editorial staff appreciates your feedback.

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